“I’ll definitely look towards that change” – Wasim Jaffer wants Yashasvi Jaiswal as opener for IND vs WI 2nd T20I

Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer wants Yashasvi Jaiswal to replace Ishan Kishan as an opener in the second T20I against West Indies at Providence Stadium in Guyana on Sunday, August 6.

Jaffer hailed Jaiswal's magnificent 2023 Indian Premier League season for Rajasthan Royals. He amassed 625 runs in 14 games at a strike rate of 163.61, including one ton and five half-centuries.

The Mumbai batter recently made his Test debut in West Indies. The left-handed batter finished with 266 runs in two Tests with best score of 171 on debut.

The former opener, meanwhile, questioned Kishan’s deteriorating form in T20Is following his single-digit score (six runs off nine balls) in the first T20I, which the Men in Blue lost by four runs to go 0-1 behind in the five-match series.

Jaffer told ESPNCricinfo:

“I want to see Yashasvi Jaiswal. He should play as an opening batter. I want to see Jaiswal in place of Ishan Kishan. Ishan Kishan’s T20I form worries me. In the last 15 innings, he hasn’t even scored a 40, the strike rate is also too low. So, that’s a cause of concern, but he was in good form in ODIs. It’s a different format (T20I). He also had an ordinary IPL season.”

The cricketer-turned-commentator added:

“Why not give an opportunity to the boy who played very well in the IPL? He won the emerging player award and is confident. I’ll definitely look towards that change.”

Kishan has scored 206 runs in the last 15 T20Is at a strike rate of 103.51. His average was 13.73. Jaffer, though, backed Kishan and Shubman Gill (3 off 9) despite their flow shows in the first T20I. The 45-year-old said:

“The first T20I was played on a difficult pitch, so expecting them [Kishan and Shubman Gill] to play in that fashion (free-flowing mode) is too much expectation. It’s crucial to see the pitch for the second T20I. If it’s good enough, then our batters will obviously play well.”

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“It’s tough to accommodate him up the order” – Wasim Jaffer on Sanju Samson’s batting position

Wasim Jaffer further said that it’s tough to play Sanju Samson, who played at No. 6 in the first T20I, higher in the batting order. He said:

“I think Sanju Samson can play up in the batting order. He also plays at No.3 and 4 in the IPL, but we have a batting-heavy unit. So, it’s tough to accommodate him up the order. It’s tough to move him up in the order if you bring an extra batter.”

Tilak Varma and captain Hardik Pandya played at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, in the opening T20I. Samson scored run-a-ball 12 before being run out.

RR captain Samson has played 77 games at No. 3 in IPL, scoring 2504 runs at a strike rate of 141.71, including three tons and 15 half-centuries.